Sunday, June 3, 2018

The kitten on my lap jumped down, ran and hid under the couch. Meanwhile, my shirt was being pulled further under the door by a psycho kitty who sounded like he was conjuring a portal to hell. I thought we were in this together? Traitor!

576-481-0605: This is Jay.

Wren: Are you home?

J: Yes

Thank God!

Wren: I need you to come down here and help me out.

J: Where are you?

Wren: In my apartment.

J: Did you need a ride?

Wren: No, I need you to come here. It’s unlocked.

J: Are you propositioning me?

Seriously?

Wren: Just bring your ass down here? I have a situation!

J: Hang on.

I blew out a loud breath of relief hearing my front door open.

“Over here,” I shouted, resting the side of my head against the door.

Jay appeared to be caught between amusement and confusion as he looked down at me.

“Long story short, I adopted a sweet kitten and his brother a psychotic kitten from hell.”

He started to laugh then stopped when he heard what was behind the door.

“That’s a kitten?”

“He may also be a demon.”

Jay shook his head at me. “Why are you sitting on the floor?”

With a heavy sigh, I explained, “When we got home, I opened the carrier and he shot out of it and started attacking me. I didn’t know what else to do so I shut him in the bathroom. Then, I sat down to pet the other one and he got my shirt and won’t let go.”

“Take your shirt off.”

“Seriously?” I griped, narrowing my eyes at him.

Jay chuckled. “Slide down and pull your shirt off over your head.”

Oh, that actually makes sense.

I pulled both arms into my shirt then scooted down and pulled it over my head. The second I was free, the rest of my shirt whooshed under the door and into the bathroom.

Relieved, I stood up and stretched my arms over my head. I glanced in his direction, ready to thank him when I noticed his line of sight.

“Like you’ve never seen a girl in a bra before,” I spouted with an eye roll.

His tone was low and husky. “Yea but right now you’re putting them all to shame.”

They say you never forget your first kiss. Well, I did. Somewhere in the mix of random guys and hookups, the memory of a soft kiss on a hot summer afternoon slipped away from me. That was until the night he walked into my dad’s bar looking for a job.

We can get back to that in a minute…

My parents are Charlotte and Augustus Caffrey. After a few years of marriage, they were blessed with a set of twins. Me and my brother. I got the red hair and fiery spirit while my brother, First, came out blond with a flair for poetic angst. I’m Wren, by the way, and clearly the supreme sibling. Although my brother was named after our dad, I’m inheriting my family’s bar. The Dog House has been handed down to each Augustus in our family for generations. Until me and rightfully so. While other little girls were playing dress up and house, I was serving up apple juice boxes like they were pints of Guinness to the neighborhood kids behind a makeshift bar set up in my parents’ front yard. All I’ve ever wanted was to tend the bar like my dad and his before him.

Nothing’s changed for me. Meanwhile, everyone else has managed to get married and start having babies. I’m not resentful about that in the least. A little bored maybe, now that I’m the only single in the mix of pairs but I’m happy for them. They believe in love. Me, not so much…

Which brings us back to my first kiss and the guy who gave it to me, sitting at a corner table, across from me at my bar.